Two Aromatic Low-sodium, Low-fat Recipes: Garbanzos with Tomato Curry (Garam Masala) Sauce, and Joel’s Warm Honey-Wilted Cole Slaw

I need to catch up on recipes, so I offer here a duo of warm recipes that both have wonderful fragrances. As all my recipes, these are low in sodium and low in fat.

Garbanzos with Tomato Curry (Garam Masala) Sauce

Ingredients

2 C cooked, or salt-free canned garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
1 medium sweet onion-diced
2 cloves garlic-peeled and mashed with side of a heavy knife (or pressed)
1 Can diced tomatoes (14.5 oz.)-no salt added
3 oz. tomato paste- no salt added
½ C water
1 t. good quality garam masala (Indian Curry)
1/2 t. Szechwan seasoning (containing chili peppers, ginger, red pepper, and garlic)
3-4 T apple cider vinegar
Cavender’s Greek seasoning to taste

Cook or warm garbanzos and set aside. In a skillet sprayed with olive oil pan spray, sauté onions and garlic until the onions are translucent. Add Diced tomatoes, tomato paste, water, and vinegar. Stir the mixture well and heat to a simmer. Simmer until the mixture is heated through and is smooth, about 10 minutes. During the last minute add the garam masala and the Szechwan seasoning. Taste, and add Cavender’s is desired. This recipe makes about 2 and ½ cups and can be served over the garbanzo beans as a side dish, but it is also delicious with a wide range of meats from lamb, and fish to poultry, pork, and beef. It is delicious on Joel’s Low-Sodium, Low-Fat, Turkey Meatloaf. Nutrition information per ¼ C tomato curry, and ½ C garbanzo beans: 90.18 calories, 4.23 g protein, 19.97 g carbohydrates, 7.8 g fiber, .69 g fat, 34.71 mg sodium.

Joel’s Warm Wilted Cole Slaw

I love cabbage, and this easy recipe makes a warm and tasty change from cole slaw. In fact, it works alongside the beans and burgers where you would normally find cole slaw, and also fits nicely on the dinner table. Wilting the cabbage in the skillet releases some of the inherent sweetness of this noble crucifer.

Ingredients

16 oz. cole slaw mix (cabbage, red cabbage, and carrots)
½ medium sweet onion (like Vidalia), finely chopped
1 t. dry mustard
1 T honey
¼ C apple cider vinegar
¼ t. ground black pepper
½ t. caraway seed

Spray a large skillet with olive oil pan spray, add the onions and dry mustard, and sauté until the onion is translucent. Set the onion aside and add the slaw mixture to the skillet and stir-fry until the cabbage is wilted, about 3 minutes. Combine the onions with the slaw in a large bowl. Add the honey and apple cider vinegar back to the skillet and stir while the honey dissolves and the mixture becomes foamy. Pour the honey mixture over the warm slaw and stir with the pepper and caraway seeds. Serve immediately while warm. This recipe makes about 4 cups. Nutrition information per a generous 1 cup serving: 56.5 calories, 1.89 g protein, 13.84 g carbohydrates, 3.75 g fiber, 0 g fat, 38.25 mg sodium.

Here is my recap from yesterday.

Daily Dietary Recap-6/4/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1142.16	47.65 g	210.55 g	534.71 mg	14.55 g	9.45%

Pork Chop Flop or Challenges at Home on the Range

It was a tough weekend on the range. To paraphrase Thomas Edison, I learned a number of things that didn’t work. I had some pork loin that I cut into boneless chops and a couple of roasts, so I thought I would try to make a low fat, low sodium barbecue sauce. I used the following ingredients and simmered it for about 30 minutes. It was a flop. The tomato paste still tasted raw. I may try adding a little hickory Liquid Smoke and simmering it another half hour.

2-6 oz. Tomato Paste
1-4 oz. Tomato sauce-no salt added
.5 C Packed Brown Sugar
1/4 C Sweet Onion-Chopped
1 C Apple cider vinegar
2 t Dry Mustard
2 t Paprika
1 T Chili powder

I actually parboiled the chops for 30 minutes first, put them in a casserole dish, and covered them in the above sauce. I covered the casserole dish with aluminum foil and let it heat at 250º for about an hour.

I then decided to try another cole slaw recipe, this time a mayonnaise-free recipe from the Lotrel web site, attributed to Joe Montana. When I made it according to his recipe, there was way too much yogurt and very little flavor. I saved it by increasing the apple cider vinegar from 2 tablespoons to 1 cup and adding 3 tablespoons of sugar. Next time I will reduce the plain yogurt to 1 cup and leave the other ingredients alone; it should be about right then.

Cole Slaw 4

1.5 C Dannon all natural Plain Yogurt
7.5 C Slaw Mix
1 C Apple cider vinegar
0.25 t. Celery seed
0.25 Paprika
3 T Sugar

I added one-half cup of apple cider vinegar to the slaw mix and let it sit for about 15 minutes, then added the rest of the ingredients. I let the flavors blend and the slaw chill in the refrigerator until it was time to serve.

This slaw contains only 57.88 calories per cup and, 11.61 g protein, 11.25 g carbohydrate, .05 g fat, and 44.25 mg sodium. Percentage of calories from fat is only .01%.

I have some catching up to do in posting my daily recaps. I’ve had a cold for the last week and have avoided the fitness center and have had generally low energy, but I have stuck with my diet. Here are the recaps.

Sunday

Daily Dietary Recap-3/18/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1127.1	47.87 g	190.46 g	508.97 mg	19.82 g	14.61%

Saturday

Daily Dietary Recap-3/17/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1165.94	58 g	169.05 g	736.51 mg	22.17 g	15.96%

Friday

Daily Dietary Recap-3/16/2007
Calories	Protein	Carbohydrates	Sodium	Fat	% Calories from Fat
1265.04	66.82 g	212.98 g	957.72 mg	18.73 g	11.89%